Two Fridays ago, we signed a lease on a spot! We're currently in the midst of getting our paperwork in order and soon we'll be good to go. Got a few surprises up our sleeves, but for now, you can check out our website and FB page...

I'm sure reading this post doesn't convey the utter excitement and joy I'm feeling. I've been working towards this goal for a little while now, so it's an awesome feeling to finally see it being realized.

Since I have the other website up, I will probably post here even less often... which already wasn't very often at all.

Last year, around this time, I was falling in love with my first motorcycle... the Sand Flea. It's a 1974 Honda CB200 café racer. I was lucky enough to find it on Crackslist from a former BMW and Ducati technician and member of the Cretins MC, Mike "Cogs" Collins.

Me and my first motorcycle, Sand Flea, a 1974 Honda CB200

#40, Cogs, in front

Knowing that this was my first bike, Mike has been gracious enough to give me tons of tips, introduce me to Backfire Moto, come over to help trouble shoot when the Flea isn't agreeing with me, and also give me a true to life scare story to make sure I know that I'm putting myself at risk every time I put on my helmet for a ride.

On the day I bought the Flea from him, he told me about his ~70mph crash during a race which resulted in a broken C7, T7-11 (with T9 being a burst fracture), avulsion fracture of the skull base (ligaments tear piece of bone away), sternum, 8 ribs, liver laceration, lung contusions, bruises, and abrasions. Needless to say, I was kinda scared shitless. I ended up taking the rider course and becoming comfortable and confident riding... but I would still definitely classify myself as a fair weather rider. Anyways... back to the point. I had the pleasure of tattooing Mike's racing number with some laurel branches on his crashiversary last Thursday.

Mike after his crash

Mike's fast 40 with laurels

Doing a tattoo that meaningful was a good reminder that every tattoo I do has significant meaning to each individual client. Whether it's a tattoo of Willy Wonka, a cross, a pair of baby footprints, or a stick figure... it's significant enough for that client to want to put it in their skin and make it a part of their body to wear for the rest of their lives. And that's all the more reason for me to do the best tattoo I can every time.

Alright... enough blabber. This weekend, I also got to finish up a couple multiple session tattoos that have been in progress for a little while. Here's the two koi I did on Mike's calf. This last session was just a quick touch up here and there, mostly re-doing the yellow that was too light on the outer calf. This was my first large piece and I'm definitely pleased with how it turned out.

Mike's inner calf koi

Mike's outer calf koi

I learned a ton during the process of tattooing Mike's koi leg piece, which I was able to apply to Ray's koi half sleeve. Below you can see the difference some color makes, comparing the 3rd session to the completed tattoo. I love the uniqueness of the koi's coloration. Ray wanted a few specific colors and the asagi koi was the best choice to incorporate all of them. I definitely don't see too many asagi koi tattoos, so I'm proud to put this one in the portfolio.

Since it's my blog, I get to start with my tattoo and go opposite chronological order. I was lucky enough to have been a part of two people's first tattoo this weekend. On Sunday, I tattooed this Mariner's logo on on Sam. I'm pleased with how it turned out but, more importantly, I think Sam was stoked on it. In line with my prior post, it's great when hard work pays off.

On Saturday, the other person who got tattooed for the first time is actually someone I know quite well... my brother! Now, don't look down at that picture and get your hopes up... I didn't do the tattoo. I wanted him to have the full experience as a tattoo client IN a tattoo shop. He chose Bryan Kachel at Cicada Tattoo. Turns out to be a damn good choice. As with how all good tattoos should turn out, both the client and the artist were also very happy with the outcome. They just got thru the linework for the first session. That's always a good place to stop and gather your thoughts.

As you can see, my brother got two cocks. Cockerels. Ummm... roosters. ;) You might be thinking, what happened to those two weird thingies on the top and bottom of the rooter's heads. Well... the wattle (bottom weird thingy) and comb (top weird thingy) are cut off for fighting purposes. You can also notice the blade on the spur of the top rooster. Tsk tsk tsk. I'm not sure I condone such violence. However... it is serving it's purpose... and reminding me of the Philippines. Ahhhhhhh...

Important steps along this interesting journey are taking place and I'm loving every one of 'em.Last sessions on both the koi leg and koi half sleeve are coming up next weekend!Thanks for reading.

Keeping with the theme of increased productivity brought about by Spring season, here's to a good weekend! I touched up a couple tattoos on Thursday and Friday, then did a nice sized piece on Saturday. As simple as the cartoon design looks, it was a fun challenge and I was quite pleased with the outcome!

During *the wolf* touch up, we had a conversation about the younger generation being lazy and expecting everything handed them. She reminded me of the appreciation of hard work!.. being proud of getting something accomplished with some good ol' elbow juice.

This helped me gain a little zen in the art of lawn mowing on Sunday. Let's face it... mowing the lawn can be a pain in the ass. But instead of abhorring the situation, I tried to appreciate the work I was doing and take pride in a well mowed lawn. I concentrated on the most efficient way to produce a consistent mow... almost like each line in a tattoo. I thought about a buddy of mine who seems to ENJOY mowing the lawn and cutting clean, nice, rows and patterns into his yard.

I was brought back to the good ol' days of a hard day's work, building up an appetite, and earning the right to rest and relax. Afterwards, I had one of my most enjoyable motorcycle rides I've had in a while... watching the sun set over the mountains, trees, and a nearby lake. Rode home and ate a delicious dinner prepared by my loving wife as we watched the NBA playoffs. Can't really ask for much more!!

Life's beautiful when you can sit back and enjoy the simple things.

Other highlights of the weekend include a good conversation with my mom, two good movies with my wife (Grizzly Man and Biutiful), another movie solo (Fresh... about the the industrialized farm industry vs organic and free range), a bunch of playoff basketball, SUN, and much needed quiet time.

Did a carabao and some traditional Filipino script on an old buddy o' mine.

My cousin came in to touch up a flower and to cover up some script. Here's the before and after.

Another day, another foot tattoo! Here's one that's a little different... a tribal dragon and some cherry blossoms on the side of the foot. I dig the placement!

Here's an in progress half sleeve koi. It worked out great that we didn't finish the line work in the first session and left the inner arm open... which allowed us to agree on the idea of a chrysanthemum. One more session should do it!

Business is starting to pick up, slowly but surely. In the meantime, I gotta get outa this winter hibernation funk and gets ta woik! I need to keep drawing, painting, improving and learning AND I gotta get back into shape!

I just got a bicycle for the health and exercise aspect! I'm not the type of person who can sit on an exercise bike or run on a treadmill... I gotta be movin'! My main form of exercise throughout the years has been basketball, but this bike will be a nice additional to the regimen.

I revamped the home studio and I'm ready to rock and/or roll. Hopefully "and." Photos you ask? Sure...

I've got a few in progress tattoos that I'm finishing up, a few new ones lined up, and a few that I need to get off my @$$ and do some drawings for. The bright orb in the sky (the sun) is coming back to wake me up a bit, so hopefully it will do the same for others. SPRING! My engineering dorkiness just made think of how fitting the word "spring" is for the season... potential and kinetic energy. We've been storing up energy all winter, to be used NOW!.. like a compressed spring, ready to bounce!

WAKE UP!Get to work! Learn something! DO something! Start a new hobby! Sign up for a class you always wanted to take! Don't just be stagnant and complacent! Set a goal and do what it takes to achieve it! It'll feel amazing!.. trust me!

OK... that's enough soap box-iness and exclamation points. How about a shameless plug? The wife and I will be visiting the Bay Area in early June, tentatively the 8th - 17th. If you'd like to get a tattoo, contact me at chris@lanzontattoo.com I drew up this little ad/flyer thing last night since folks seem to react more to colors and pictures than random text. You're probably not even reading this right now. Yes, the bear's farting.

I've been neglecting this site for a while and a lot has happened since. I've gotten a bunch of new tattoos on myself, including this one below, from my brother... the three wise monkeys. It's one I knew he would be into and it shows! I think it turned out awesome! This was a fresh picture, after the second session. You can see that the bottom one healed up a bit from the first session and the top two are fresh. He added some white highlights, which have now drastically subsided, due to my beautifully tanned skin. ;) Anyways, you can see how far he's come in a short time in from his album linked above. My plans are coming to fruition! (<--- I love it when they do that).

Another major event happened just the other day... my apprenticeship has officially ended!! It's been a great learning experience and I've grown by leaps and bounds, but it's just time to move on. I wish my teacher the best and I truly believe he does the same for me. We ended on good terms and hope to remain good friends.

The page to the next chapter is turning... on some Choose Your Own Adventure shit.

YES! I AM a shark!! I've got a couple options brewing... depending on what sort of bigfoot toenails and unicorn blood I want to stir in to the cauldron. For now, I'm trying to build up that portfolio. Contact me if you're itching for some stitchin!

Here's a little sneak peak of the latest flash sheet I've been painting. I should be able to finish it tonight and get full pics up tomorrow...

I'm pretty proud of it, so far, and proof of one of my strong beliefs of a couple keys to success... ability and drive. I believe there's such a thing as natural talent, but the most successful are those who possess this talent and have the drive to harness it and put to use. An easy example of this is well known athletes... my sport is basketball. Players who come to mind are Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. These two dudes had a great gift already, but they also put in the work to make themselves the best they can be. An example of ability with low drive is a person like Allen Iverson. Dude had all kinds of ability but, "Practice? We talkin' 'bout practice? Maaaan... this is just practice! Practice?!" Then there's a ton of players who don't have that superstar ability, but they work hard to reach their potential... maybe like a Tim Duncan. He's got size, sure, but not the most athletic dude on the court. You can tell he puts in the work to master his moves and bank shot.It doesn't always come easy, but the work you put in leads to growth, learning, and strides toward reaching your potential. If you think I'm just talking some bullshit, here's a horse from my first ever flash sheet, painted about three years ago...

There's obviously a stark difference and it didn't come overnight. Three years ago, I was nowhere near my full potential and I knew it. I still don't know how far my potential will reach, but I know I'm going to continue to push it and test it. It's actually pretty funny, but at the same time rewarding, to look back on this first sheet and see how horrible it was and how far I've come. Just gotta keep driving forward!Anyways... enough rambling. Thanks for reading.PEACE!

I've had the urge to tattoo something on myself again lately, but I've been flipping thru my books and haven't been able to find something to get. Since I was going to be at the shop today, I decided that I'd just pick something off a flash sheet. I came across this moth on a flash sheet from Spider Murphy's, by Paul Anthony Dobleman. I traced it out and it didn't fit the space I wanted to fill, but I was already stuck on the image. In my search for where to put it, I pulled up my pant leg and saw the first tattoo I ever did... a Daruma head. Perfect!

Daruma doll heads have blank eyes. When you receive one, you fill in one eye and make a wish or set a goal. When you get your wish or achieve your goal, you fill in the other eye. It's a little reminder to keep your eyes on the prize. I happened to put it on the top of my thigh because it's one of the easiest places to tattoo yourself. It also happens to be a great spot for a reminder tattoo because I see it every day when I have alone time to do some thinking... on the $#!++er.

A moth flying towards the Daruma is perfect, as the moth is seeker of light. I've also been thinking of what I could put around the Daruma for a while, so it worked out sweet. I decided to freehand a little candle on the Daruma head also, as a further representation of the light. It's cool to see my progression over the last three years on my journey to filling in that other eye. Anyways... enough jaw flappin' (or finger typin')... here's the pics:

Here's a shot of the Daruma head right after I finished it, almost three years ago. There's a drastic difference in the linework and shading between him and the moth and candle. Thankfully, the ink ages with the body and it's healed up to a point where I can actually share this and not be completed ashamed. I've definitely come a long way since then, but I also know there's a long way to go. The best part is, I know I can only get better with each and every drawing and tattoo. Thanks for reading!.. now come get tattooed!!

I started a flash sheet of original designs a long while back and got stuck with two empty spaces. I finally got around to filling 'em by tracing the spaces and seeing what would fit the shape, away from the rest of the sheet. Check out what I came up with! Read the captions for details.

I'm pretty excited to get back onto watercolor paper and I'm pleased with how it's turning out so far. It's a good reminder.